WASHINGTON – Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi yesterday came to the nation’s capital to say a warm thanks to America for toppling Saddam Hussein and setting his country on the path to freedom.

“Iraqis thank God, thank America and thank our allies that Saddam is gone. We are safer, the region is safer, the world is safer without him,” Allawi said as he stood with President Bush in the White House Rose Garden.

In a historic speech to Congress, the Iraqi leader said: “I have come here to thank you and to promise you that your sacrifices are not in vain . . . Your decision to go to war in Iraq was not an easy one, but it was the right one.”

He added: “There are no words that can express the debt of gratitude that future generations of Iraqis will owe to Americans. It would have been easy to have turned your back on our plight, but this is not the tradition of this great country.”

Allawi – who survived an assassination attempt by Saddam’s thugs armed with axes while in exile in London – acknowledged that Iraq faces tough times and lethal terrorists but insisted that they will be defeated.

“We are succeeding in Iraq. It’s a tough struggle with setbacks, but we are succeeding,” he said in his fluent, lightly accented English, as he contrasted today’s hopes with a million people murdered by Saddam.

Iraqis want to take over their own security as fast as possible, he said, adding: “We do not want the multinational force to stay in Iraq any more than you want to remain there. But for now, we need you.”

Still, Allawi stressed that he doesn’t want any more U.S. troops sent to Iraq. “To have more troops, we don’t need,” he said. “What we need really is to train more Iraqis,” Allawi said.

Bush left open the door to sending more troops to Iraq if U.S. commanders ask, but said he’s had no such requests.

Together, Bush and Allawi presented a united front of determination and optimism, both saying that there will be more setbacks and violence but Iraq is part of the war on terrorism, so the battle there also protects America.

“If we stop fighting the terrorists in Iraq, they would be free to plot and plan attacks elsewhere, in America and other free nations. To retreat now would betray our mission, our word and our friends,” Bush said.

Allawi’s visit came at a time when Iraq is a key issue in the presidential race. He thanked Bush for his “unflinching” strength while making remarks that could be seen as veiled criticism of Democrat John Kerry.

Allawi’s talk of a world that’s safer without Saddam echoes a Bush theme, and Allawi’s warning against defeatism came as Bush is suggesting Kerry’s “mixed messages” on Iraq could “embolden an enemy.”

In a campaign twist, the increasingly anti-war Kerry yesterday took shots at Allawi and accused him of lying about reality in Iraq – the same charges he’s made against Bush, as if Kerry is now running against both Bush and Allawi.

Kerry accused Allawi and Bush of trying to put the “best face” on a failed policy, adding: “[Allawi] is obviously contradicting his own statement of a few days ago when he said that terrorists are pouring into the country.”

Allawi said on ABC that terrorists were coming to Iraq – but only in the context of stressing that this is the “last stand” for the terrorists. In the same interview, he said: “We are winning. We will continue to win. We are going to prevail.”

Allawi yesterday vowed that Iraqi elections will occur “on time” in January. Kerry insisted: “There are no-go zones in Iraq today. You can’t hold an election in a no-go zone.”

Bush campaign chair Marc Racicot shot back that Kerry’s “attacks on the veracity of the Iraqi prime minister . . . reveal a stunning propensity to take political cheap shots for his own benefit by denigrating our allies.”

Both Bush and Allawi yesterday acknowledged the bloody images of terror from Iraq that have rocked the world.

“Our military cannot be defeated by these thugs but what they do is behead Americans so they can get on the TV screens . . . Like all Americans I’m disgusted by that kind of behavior. But I’m not going to yield,” Bush said.

Allawi said: “These last few days have been difficult . . . My thoughts and prayers are with the families of those fighting today in Iraq and in particular, with the families of those who have lost loved ones at the hands of the terrorists or the insurgents.”